


Under the tree

by bunnysworld



Series: Bonded to magic [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bonding, Druids, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 20:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20441669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: Leon joins Merlin for a moment of peace and quiet and they talk.





	Under the tree

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd. 
> 
> Sequel to [The horned God](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20427470).  
I think it's safe to say that this is a series. Will combine the stories at a later time when I found a name for it.

"Hi."

Merlin looked up. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard Leon approaching. "Hello."

"Can I sit here for a moment?" Leon pointed to the spot next to where Merlin was leaning against a tree. 

"Of course." 

He hadn't spoken to Leon very often since he came here with Arthur and Merlin wondered what he wanted. 

"Are you alright?" The tall man threw him a sideways look after he'd sat down. 

"Yes. Getting there." Merlin had come here to get some peace and quiet. He loved the big old tree that he had been climbing around in - much to his mother's dismay - when he was little. The view over the valley was nice and it was almost as if he could hear nature whisper. He was alright. Still a bit exhausted and his legs were sore, but things would be fine. 

"That was quite impressive."

"Hm?" Merlin looked over.

"What you did at the ritual, I didn't know you could do that. Looked like some powerful magic." Leon picked up a twig and started turning it between his fingers. 

Merlin shrugged. It was, but it was nothing special, he was used to it. 

"It's normal for you, isn't it?"

"I grew up with it. I've always had it. The day I was born, the druids celebrated. It's who I am." He said defensively.

Leon looked over the valey for a while before he spoke again. "Where I come from, we get taught to not trust magic users. They tried to destroy Camelot so often that you tend to forget that some people just use magic to protect others and don't do anything evil at all."

"And yet you seem to like living here."

Chucking, Leon nodded. "It might sound odd, but I do. My life was only duty and maintaining the image of nobility, fighting for others. Here, I feel like I can fight for myself, even though it's hard work."

"And then there's Lea." Merlin grinned. Everyone could see that Leon had immediately started taking care of the young widow and her toddler son. 

"And then there's Lea." Leon smiled. 

They sat in silence for a few moments. 

"What you did there the other day...I feel honoured that I could witness it."

Merlin shrugged again. "You live here now, you are part of the community. Nobody gets left out here."

"You seemed to be a totally different person."

"I wasn't a person. The horned God spoke through me. Me, Merlin, wasn't really there."

"You have no memory of it?"

Merlin shook his head. "The last thing I remember is seeing...seeing Arthur there and being surprised that he came. Then...nothing."

"How do you...I mean...you don't know what you've said and all that?"

"No. That's why the elders are there. They know what the god said and know how to react and how to interpret it." It had always been this way, Merlin never questioned it. "Why? What did he say?"

Leon smiled. "A lot about the fertility of the land and something about a certain bond that I didn't understand too clearly. And then you spoke in a different language."

Merlin groaned. Had the god told him something about Arthur? None of the elders had come to speak to him since he came to two days later. 

"So you actually came to talk about Arthur?" It wasn't really a question. 

"Kind of."

"He's been acting weird since the festivities." Merlin sighed. "Weirder than usual."

"How old are you, Merlin?"

"I've seen eighteenth summers. Why?"

Leon nodded. "Arthur is two years older. I've known him his entire life."

"So you know why he's been acting so oddly?" Merlin turned halfways so he could look at Leon better. "Has he said anything?"

"No, he hasn't. You should know him well enough by now to know that he's not good with words when it comes to talk about what he is feeling."

Merlin nodded. It was easy for him. He was always surrounded by people who didn't shy away from expressing how much they meant to each other. Arthur seemed to hold everything in. 

"He was brought up that way. He's the future king of Camelot. Expressing emotions is seen as weakness there."

What a strange way of handling things. "Sometimes you get more connected and therefore more powerful when you tell someone how you feel."

"And that's part of what I like here. It's just very strange for Arthur. When he was little, he wasn't allowed to have friends. He had young squires from other noble families to fight with, to train his sword skills, to..." Leon shrugged, "Basically everything was a competition for him. As he got older, he understood why he had to keep his distance."

Merlin frowned. "That must have been very lonely."

Leon nodded and started to describe Camelot, the way it looked and how things were handled there. How King Uther had punished them both when he caught them playing in the hallways and that all Arthur ever got from his father was lectures in dicipline and duty. The prince had pulled back from everyone who had ever been close to him and how he grew into the role of the future king, leader of his people, more and more. 

It sounded all very alien to Merlin. Even though everyone knew about his powers, the children of the village all played together and he had lots of friends growing up. They all trusted each other in their little community. They depended on each other, it was bad not to trust.

"That's...strange."

Smiling at him, Leon nodded. "This sounds strange to you. Can you imagine how strange this here is for him?"

Merlin frowned. "This here?"

"Yes, that the villagers all cooperate and that you can knock on everyone's door at all times of day and are granted entrance. That you need to work together to survive the winter. That you celebrate together and grieve together, that you help each other out. He was basically locked away in the castle his entire life. All he knows is orders. Orders he gave and orders he was given. He has a hard time asking for something."

Merlin listened and tried to picture what Arthur's life was like before he came here. He had some difficulties as it was hard to imagine a room that was bigger than their entire house. Maybe he would go into the woods for a few days and ask his magic to show him this Camelot, so he would understand a bit better. 

"He doesn't want to be here and yet he came to the festivities. Why?" 

A wide smile showed on Leon's face. "He might be stubborn as a donkey, and don't tell him I said that, but he is curious, too. Just as you are trying to understand him, he is trying to understand you."

"He does? Why?"

"You are his bonded." Leon chuckled. "Sometimes it might seem as if he hates it, but he is not taking it lightly."

"So...this is like one of those orders he got? He doesn't want to, but he thinks it's his duty?"

Leon made a face. "No, not really. In the beginning maybe, yes. But if he didn't want to stay, he would have left the last time the knights came by."

"If he wants to stay, why is he so...so..." Merlin let out a frustrated sigh. 

"Questioning everything?" Leon chuckled.

"Annoying, that's what I wanted to say." Merlin made a face. 

"As I said, it's very new and strange to him. He's never met anyone like you, Merlin."

Merlin blinked. "So...you're saying he stays because he's trying to figure me out?"

"If he didn't like you, he'd be long gone." Leon got up. "I better get back to the village. Lea might need someone to watch little Jeremy."

Merlin sat under the tree for a long time. Leon knew Arthur better than anyone else and he said that Arthur liked him and that was the reason for him watching the ritual. A wide smile spread on Merlin's face.

[Harvest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20460299)


End file.
